Saturday, September 13, 2008

Ok, no rolling of the eyes here....I am seriously debating returning to Wordpress because of their added features. I hate to flip flop but what to do. I get bored with a format and yearn for change....the woman in me ha ha and ha ha.....but am considering it so don't be surprised if you see a link to my old site. ;^)

Friday, September 12, 2008

This month is a killer. Am turning 40, have to fly to Florida for a week for a wedding and dad is in the hospital as I write this.

How to manage all of this withoutlosing your mind?

Good question...

For me it has always been exercise however I canceled my membership at 24 Hour Fitness because I want to try out the three month exercise regime mentioned in this post. Burning off the anger, stress, ranting, crying, hair pulling, frustration, screaming, and all around kookiness of the issues I am facing will do wonders......

In the meantime I feel that taking all of this in stride, one day at a time is a must.

Thinking positive thoughts...knowing that there is a silver lining in every cloud (as corny as that can be) can be a life saver.

Normally I don't delve too much about my "personal" life here unless I feel it can benefit others.

I had a family emergency this week regarding my father who is diabetic and insulin dependent. He was transferred from the Marion VA Hospital to the one here in Saint Louis. Thankfully there are benefits out there for veterans like my dad and myself when the need should arise.

However, I can easily see how more money needs to be filtered into the VA hospitals in this country for several reasons (it's just not Walter Reed--check out this story for more reasons why we need to be an active voice for our nation's veterans):

The scandal has reverberated through generations of veterans. "It's been a potent reminder of past indignities and past traumas," said Thomas A. Mellman, a professor of psychiatry at Howard University who specializes in post-traumatic stress and has worked in Veterans Affairs hospitals. "The fact that it's been responded to so quickly has created mixed feelings -- gratification, but obvious regret and anger that such attention wasn't given before, especially for Vietnam veterans."

Across the country, some military quarters for wounded outpatients are in bad shape, according to interviews, Government Accountability Office reports and transcripts of congressional testimony. The mold, mice and rot of Walter Reed's Building 18 compose a familiar scenario for many soldiers back from Iraq or Afghanistan who were shipped to their home posts for treatment. Nearly 4,000 outpatients are currently in the military's Medical Holding or Medical Holdover companies, which oversee the wounded. Soldiers and veterans report bureaucratic disarray similar to Walter Reed's: indifferent, untrained staff; lost paperwork; medical appointments that drop from the computers; and long waits for consultations.

My personal observations1. They are understaffed (big time)2. The hospitals are outdated and in need of repair. (The conditions which these vets are hospitalized in leaves allot to be desired).3. With the influx of war veterans the US Government has to step up to the plate and fix these problems...along with everything else that is in need of help in the VA system.

Be your own advocateBeing a diabetic means watching (diligently...almost religiously) what you eat and HOW you take care of your body. Dad, for whatever reason, doesn't take care of himself like he should with this disease.

Everything falls on mom or the children.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for parents to ensure that they can manage their health care. Create living wills, make sure your affairs are in order (for the inevitable), use common sense....(canNOT stress that enough).

Children are there, of course for the moral support and if need to be to step in. But at the same time I am a strong advocate of people taking charge of their lives if they are capable of doing so. Don't get lazy or stubborn about these issues. I for one plan on making sure that my affairs are in order, that I use common sense when it comes to my health, and to create the least amount of stress for my only child when that time does arise in the far off future.

Taking care of my health now, mental and physical not only is common sense but a responsibility that I have to myself and to my family.

Whoever would find a place in that world must tread on the lusts of this world. This world is dust and is perishable. That world is pure and eternal. . . . Commit yourself to love's sanctuary and at once find freedom from your ego. Fly in love as an arrow towards its target. Love loosens the knots of being, love is liberation from the vortex of egotism. In love, every cup of sorrow which bites into the soul gives it new life. Many a draft bitter as poison has become in love delicious. . . . However agonizing the experience, if it is for love it is well.

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Love Lost...Love Gained...

I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough. --Noah (The Notebook)

Life is a passion..........

"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. If you don’t start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who’ll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I’m not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you’ll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven’t lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven’t tried, you haven’t lived."-William Parrish

"Oh servant of your body,how tired, you are, at serving it.Do you ask to win from what holds in it a loss?Rise to your soul, and complete its manners,For you are, by the soul not the body, a human.And reach to God's rope, hold it tightly,For He is The corner, when other corners deceive you."

I too dream........

All men dream: but not equally.Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was a vanity: But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, For they may act their dreams out with open eyes, to make it possible....This I did." T.E. Lawrence

Nerve Central

About Me

I chose the online name Marianna in 1994 when I "discovered" the Internet because I loved how it flowed....I consider myself a moderate in politics and life because not everything is simply black or white. (There's always a touch of color somewhere).
Am a military veteran with many years of service. I am also a college graduate. I enjoy relaying my ideas and thoughts on this electronic format. I like to discuss everything from politics, current events, humor, women issues and pretty much anything else I can stick in here and get away with. ;-)